This must be said, in the event someone takes this seriously; ABSOLUTELY NO RAZOR BLADE SHOULD BE BURIED OR COMPOSTED, EVER. some HANDLES are biodegradable, NO blade is. All blades should be put into a proper bin and disposed of at a designated recycling facility. Please, keep blades in a tightly shut bin, out of reach of children and pets!!! KIDS and ANIMALS dig in dirt, please DO NOT BURY/COMPOST!
Rust is oxidation, I bury all kinds of metal in the yard it rusts falls apart into tiny particles and adds iron to the soil eventually disappears. I grew up on an old farm where I learned these things first hand, from experience and witnessing with my very own eyes not from a book or the internet :)
Hi great video thank you. From what I remember safety razor blades are not decomposable but you can go to your local recycling center once you accumulated enough of them and they will recycle it. its even better as it creates a new object:). keep up the good work
Jeanne Bertille Thanks for that post, I thought of that too! However deep you bury it those blades in time can still become a hazard, so much better to accumulate them and drop the old blades at recycling center. I have heard that you can sharpen them by rubbing them along the inside of a drinking glass. Also, for new users: remove and air dry the blades and shaver between uses will prolong the life of the blades. On a side note, I think countries without landfills/incineraters were disposing of their trash into the ocean, not individuals (but you never can tell). Always glad to see another zero waster here on YT!
another thing you can use for a natural plastic free zero waste shampoo, body wash, laundry soap, cleaner, hand soap, etc etc, is soap nuts/berries. they come in a reusable cotton bag, and at the end of their life are compostable. you can get a bag of 150+ soap nuts for around $18.00 U.S. and you use 5 soap nuts for 5-6 maybe even more washes (of clothing). so essentially that one bag produces like 500 washes. I think it's a great alternative.
Ah yes, I use soap nuts for my laundry! They are wonderful things and I throw them right into my compost bin after use. Thanks for the tip for everyone in the comments section. Perhaps I'll do a laundry / home cleaning zero waste video soon, too.
auriianna S Metal doesn't decompose. It will eventually rust and crumble, but it doesn't decompose. It also takes a very long time for that to happen (depending on the environment). I suggest recycling the blades instead of "composting" then.
Right ... Putting them in your compost or garden seems like a really bad idea. They would break down eventually but someone could get a good rusty tetanus cut in the meantime
They have special little tins you can get where you can put all of your blades in there (it'll take a while to fill up) and then recycle that. That way they don't hurt anyone or anything while being recycled. They can also damage the machines I believe.
Here's how to recycle razor blades: Take any metal tin with a lid, for example an empty hair wax tin, or an altoids tin and cut a thin slit on the top. Slide the blades inside when they are no longer cutting well. Store in a safe place. When full, just recycle the whole thing as metal trash. It will take years to fill the thing up as the blades are so thin, a very small container will do. Bonus points for jamming the container shut however you can with handtools, so there is no way for someone to accidentally get inside the tin.
Thank you so much for the tip about the safety razor! I have seen dozens of these videos and nobody has mentioned that. Also, I'm vegan and I know most regular razors use gelatin on the blade bumper thing, and I haven't known what to do about it (I'll be sharing the tip on my own channel, but you'll get credit, of course!). Great channel! I hope you have more videos like this, because I subscribed immediately. Keep up the great work!!
Thank you so much for your comment! I have definitely got more videos about zero waste, minimalism, veganism and wellness coming your way. I post every Sunday 8am GMT
Isn't it amazing how few items you actually need in the bathroom and that some of them can even be easily homemade? And I've also found that it not only saves a lot of money to only use a few select products it also saves me from constantly having to choose between literally hundreds of choices every time I need new toothpaste or shampoo. It's also much easier now to just completely ignore advertising...all in all I feel relieved not deprived as I expected.
Absolutely! I agree 100% with your comment! The more choice we have the more anxiety there is. Now there is less time wasted, money wasted, mental energy spent and stress spent. Plus, I have wonderful products that work better than any store-bought products I've tried, they don't harm the planet and they're super fun to make! Win, win win!
Jolly useful. I shall be using some of your ideas, so thank you. Agree with other comments about the razor blade, though. They don’t decompose in soil. Best bet is to check with your local council. They’ll know what’s the best way to safely dispose of them. Cheers!
Awesome video.I started a few months ago going minimalist.I got rid of 9 bags of clothes and 3 boxes of things all in one day. I subscribed to your channel.
I've never tried a tongue scraper, but I use my tooth brush to brush my tongue as well. I always feel pretty fresh when I'm done. Just massage/brush in a circular motion like you would with your gums. Feels great!
I love that you're promoting a minimal waste lifestyle! It's so refreshing to see so many minimalists on RU-vid :-) plus I've used Dr Bronners lavender castille soap before and absolutely love it! Xx
Homemade deodorant is such a cute idea!! I hate the bottles and spray cans for deodorant and antiperspirant so having a little jar of deodorant is so sweet
Lighting tips (I didn't read through the comments, so sorry if this is repeat): Natural light is pretty much ALWAYS better than any synthetic lighting (much like everything else is life ;) ) BUT to keep it from blinding you while filming you can defuse the light with sheer curtains, or have it light you from more of a side angle. Defusing is likely the easiest as the sun is always moving! Hope that helps!
burying the razor is a great idea. my grandfather used to collect staples and paper clips in a can and let them rust a bit and then bury them in soil next to certain plants like the hydrangeas. it would help them turn different colors.
If you can afford it, I highly suggest getting laser hair removal. I don't care for my leg hair, so i left my legs alone since it's only aesthetic, but I did laser hair removal on bikini and underarm area for hygiene purposes. Highly recommend! Only a few sessions and no more hair, so no razors ever ! Yay !
Metal objects might be a lot more durable than plastic ones, but their production also uses up a lot more energy and resources than plastic products. So a tongue scraper with metal instead of plastic handles might not per se be more environmentally friendly. I think that, unless you throw out your scraper every few weeks, you can't really call one type 'waste free' and the other not waste free. If it ever breaks, you can also clean your tongue with your toothbrush (saves you from buying an extra product, which might make it more 'waste free')
You can find copper tongue cleaners with no plastic handles in Indian grocery Store. Their ends are bent in a circle so you can have the grip.Also I love all your videos.I always had these ideologies but I didn't know where to start. Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Recipes coming soon! It's great you're being more mindful of your impact on the planet. I agree, this world needs support and we can make an impact by making better choices every day.
I'm really happy that I found your channel! Thanks for sharing all of your tips for zero waster in the bathroom. Looking forward to your mouth wash, toothpaste and deodorant recipes! I'm also going to make a switch to these products - picking up a bottle of castile soap tonight! 😊
Thank you! I'm happy you found it, too ;) I'm looking forward to sharing my recipes with you... it will be great to share pics and recipes on social media to see what concoctions people come up with! Oh you're just going to love castile soap... you can use it for pretty much anything! Check out my blogpost on 10 Uses for Castile Soap: www.sophschoices.co.uk/2016/10/10-uses-for-castile-soap.html See you next week!
getting my first own flat soon and I'm feeling so inspired and motivated. it is so easy and effortless to be good to the nature. you found a new subscriber! x
i love dr bronners too. if i may make a suggestion (and please disregard if i don't have the full story) but i thought you said you recycle the travel bottle. maybe you could just refill the travel bottle instead of purchasing a new one? also for those interested in tongue scrapping, i just use a stainless steel spoon. ;) ox
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I have actually kept the bottle for travel use. I was actually gifted that bottle and wouldn't normally buy one so small but since I have it I will, like you say, refill it for travels. Great tip for the spoon tongue scraper!
I've struggled with the castile soap. I used it as shampoo for a while, and because it was mostly oils, it really didn't cleanse, it just stuck to my hair and matted it. I had to do a huge cleanse with my hair with some Jasoon shampoo. It also super duper irritates my skin, even when I dilute it.... I can only use it sometimes as body wash :[
Oh, I've never heard of that problem before. Of course not everything works for everyone. It sounds like you've found what works for you through, which is great!
nesekaba it's because the ph level of this soap is not suited for the skin. You should never ever put soap on your skin, especially not if you live in an area with hard tap water. :)
Same!!! And it leaves a film on my skin that makes me feel sticky and breaks out my face. It creates build up on my bathtub. It leaves my dishes feeling waxy. It tastes like burning rubber if used as toothpaste. I wanted to love this “all in one magic soap” but I just had to finally come to terms with the fact that it’s a useless product for me and creates a ton of extra work removing it with vinegar afterward.
Just ran across a video filmed on midway island, heartbreaking. All the seabirds are dead and dying, and their babies they are chock full if bits of plastic, personal care product bits, razors, toothbrushes, caps bits. Midway island is in the middle of no where in the Pacific Ocean. It is horrible. It is our waste. It kills. We need to take responsibility. We need to save the planet by keeping our money in our pocket. Consider everything you buy by what is going to happen to the container afterwords. We are having a negative impact even while claiming we are minimalist, green, informed. Are we? I have a test. Put all your plastic waste in a room in your house for a year and see. Only 2% of the worlds plastics are actually recycled.
when you changed the lighting at the end due to the sun, it actually looked a little better and brighter. I don't know if it's my super cracked phone or not but it looked great!! (I had a brain fart and almost put fone instead of phone)
Literally just subscribed after watching a few of your videos. Metal blades for safety razors don't "decompose," a better option is to find a place that accepts them for recycling. Even putting them in the ground they won't really degrade because they're stainless steel. I'm not trying to be an asshole, just trying to provide information. Sorry sorry sorry, please like me.
I use a salt stick deodorant by Crystal Body and have seriously had it for at least 3 years, maybe longer (the same one). It isn't an antiperspirant, but it stops the "bad" bacteria that causes the odor in the first place.
I love crystal deodorant. I'm using one, too, from Salt of the Earth and it works amazingly well. Anti-perspirants are toxic for the body! Like you say, we don't need to stop sweating (that's our bodies way of ridding toxins), we just need to stop the bad bacteria from smelling.
You should try the Soprano laser hair removal. My underarms are cleaner and when the hairs do come back after a couple of years they are much less intense.
No they’re not. Please don’t bury blades. Small children and animals dig through the dirt and could find them and get really hurt. Please don’t. Sorry I know you’re trying to help the environment and that’s awesome but it could seriously injure small children and animals that’s really not a risk worth taking. Metal is not compostable. It rusts but it doesn’t decompose for a very long time. I’m afraid she was misinformed I know you wrote this three years ago but please listen
Solid soap (i.e. Aleppo Soap) is much more environment friendly than liquid soap. You can buy it packed in paper an it is transported without all the water in it. You can use Aleppo Soap or another natural high quality soap for your body, hair, face and much more. So you only need one soap for nearly everything you want to keep clean. And it is very soft and nourishing for your skin. It also lasts much longer than liquid soap in a bottle.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will definitely do one in the future! I also have a blog post about how I like to use it around the house: www.sophschoices.co.uk/2016/10/10-uses-for-castile-soap.html
I love Dr. Bronner's as much as the next person, but it is not zero waste unless you continue to reuse the bottle. The label and the caps are not recyclable and will end up in a landfill. In most recycling facilities, items must be greater than 2 inches wide in order to be processed. The bottle itself is recyclable, but remember when we recycle plastic that does not always mean 100% of that plastic will be reused and some may still end up in a landfill. Even if we recycle plastic, that does not mean it is zero waste. There are lots of recipes for making your own castile soap at home. If not, try buying the larger bottles of Dr. Bronner's and then getting a small reusable travel size container and fill it up yourself (or just save one of your small bottles). That way you're not wasting all the little bottles. Fortunately where I live we can buy Dr. Bronner's in bulk and bring our own reusable container to fill up. Nobody's perfect by any means (certainly not me) and I appreciate this video, but I did want to bring attention to this!
It's tricky as the UK hasn't caught up with bulk bins yet! I look for things in compostable packaging (cardboard or brown paper), glass (so that I can recycle or upcycle it) or if it's not available in either I'll get the largest size possible to reduce waste. We can only do as best we can, but making your own products and buying in bulk / recyclable material where possible is a great way to reduce waste.
It looks like that bamboo toothbrush has plastic hairs. Is that correct? Despite claims of some manufacturers, those are not compostable. Break off the head before you compost the handle. The head is still regular waste. Or try buying a wooden brush with pig hair from the company Kost Kamm in Germany. That's what I do.
This means the bristles are plastic. In the compost, they will degrade into microplastics and get into the environment. So best to break off the head before composting the handle.
I've long debated whether to buy a bamboo brush with plastic bristles or a wooden brush with pig hair bristles. According to me, it comes down to a choice between plastic-free or cruelty-free. Everyone has to make their own decision in that matter, depending on which issue is closer to your heart. My personal considerations are that I am very worried about all the plastic in our environment and I don't want to condone the use of plastics by buying a 'ecological' brush which still has plastic bristles. I also dislike that manufacturers are not clear that the bristles are plastic and therefore many ecologically conscious people end up mixing this plastic in their compost without realizing it. The pig hair of the brush that I am using now comes from pigs that are killed for their meat, which will happen anyway, whether I buy this brush or not. Also, I am not vegan. But as I said, this is a personal choice and I respect other people's choices as well. Just as long as they break off the head of those bamboo brushes before chucking them in the compost.
It’s not. Please don’t compost blades. When they’re in the ground small children and animals will dig through it and injure themselves. Metal doesn’t decompose for a very long time.
About the razor, you probably can't take it on a carry-on bag when you fly, do you? Or do you just put it in the, what's it called, sorry, I'm not a native speaker, but the luggage to don't have on the plane with you 😊 and I think I have to binge-watch your videos tonight
It seems there was a lot of feedback about the decomposing of the razor blades thing... Blue Ollis, did you have a response? It seems like the best way to dispose of them is to send them back to companies that accept them or put them in a blade box then recycle them. A tin one should be recyclable, such as this www.amazon.com/dp/B076YBW4J6/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4 but always consider human safety before disposing razors.
Why does everyone rave about Castile soap?! I have that exact bottle but bigger and used it straight for two months, before I couldn't stand it anymore. I really just wanted to stick with it because everyone else said it was good. I had the oiliest hair and smelt of BO slightly (only enough for me to notice) the whole time. Does any one have any alternates that actually work???
Savannah Earl ha ha ha I am having what's all the hype about Castile soap moment too right now. I bought it to make cleaning products and its not great. One thing that it has been good for is as a hand wash. I got a foaming soap dispenser from Muji and I dilute it 1/4 water and its pretty good. Other than, can't say I'm impressed
I dilute my liquid dr bronners with 1/4 parts soap 3/4 parts water for my hands and body with a foaming pump. I found it keeps my hands and body clean but not to dehydrated unfortunately that it doesn't work for my hair instead I tried a shampo bar and that was heaven. maybe try soap nuts . castille soap gets alot of hype because its usually made with cleaner ingredients but I only recommend it for body , hands, and laundry. Liquid castille really doesnt get dishes or hair clean from my experience
I actually started using it when my soap was breaking me out in hives and I absolutely love it, I use a small squirt on my loofah and scrub with it as a body wash and it leaves my skin feeling and smelling amazing. I have the Dr. Bronner's rose one, but I use my son's baby one when I run out.
Dr. B's should honestly never be used straight. It's not meant to be, it even says on the bottle if you can get through the other craziness on the bottle... lol. To not dilute it is essentially wasting product, and it is too concentrated to use directly on the skin. Because of that, it's life can be extended quite long. Also, Dr. B's was founded in in 1948 and was embraced during the 60's and 70's by the hippies. It has a cult following to this day, but it is certianly not a new thing. There are other castile companies as well, like Oregon Soap Company. In stores that sell bulk in the Seattle area, it is easy to find castile soap, but bar soap sold unpackaged or wrapped in paper is another great alternative. A co-op here even has a bulk soap bar where you can cut it to size. Pretty cool.
question: i see a lot of zero waste people have allot or jars and such to keep stuff in, but why? if I per say, buy Epsom salts and recycle the package and put the product in a jar, arnt I adding to the waste by buying the jar when it came in a perfectly good vessel when bought? I understand when it's like a little mixed resipe, because u can bulk buy ingredients that need less packaging, but what about something small?
Great question. For me, to purchase less waste I usually buy in bulk. So I store the large containers and decant what I need into smaller jars so that my kitchen isn't filled to the brim with HUGE packages. But if I'm buying something smaller there isn't a need to decant it. I also suspect there's an aesthetic some people are reaching for and it does make it easier to have things all in similar size jars so you can see easily (for example I can see what my spices are because of their colour and shape rather than rifling through packages and reading labels).
#SophieOllis...Hi! I'm wondering what is the reason to use a Dry Brush TOWARDS your heart? Also I understand the reason for NOT using PLASTIC...unless you recycle it...can YOU TELL me how a PLASTIC RAZOR would GET into the OCEAN from the LANDFILLS??
super late i know but I FRIGGIN LOVE YOU,YOUR LIFESTYLE,CHANEL, FILMS. EVRYTHING. YOU ARE MY LIFE INSPIRATION TO START LIVING JUST LIKE YOU sorry for caps but i just love you soo much 💕💗💟💖💔
I'm new here😊. Would have been nice to see cut sways of the items. I've worked in recycling for several years, when unavoidable (for some people), plastic is not the worst as it can be recycled, melted down and is reused. I wonder what the bamboo toothbrush bristles are made off?
That's a great idea! Thank you for your feedback, I'll be sure to add in cut-aways in future videos. The bristles are made from BPA free polymer and are also compostable :)
Hai thank you for sharing, what is coconut oil that you use? Its good to use organic coconut oil or virgin coconut oil? Sorry for my bad english, thank you ❣
Great question! I have been thinking a lot about palm oil recently and am trying to avoid it where possible. It's definitely something I have in the back of my mind when purchasing new products. I would like to move towards a no-palm-oil lifestyle. Do you have any recommendations for an alternative product?
Sophie Ollis Thanks for your answer. I did a quick Google search using the query, "palm oil free castile soap". Several options appeared including advice on a homemade version. Through that same query, I also found several options via Amazon. Here is one of them: www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZSU54RG?th=1 Also, if you have a co-op or natural grocery store near you, you can always talk to someone there about palm oil free soap options so that buying locally becomes a possibility. Feel free to do a similar Google search to find out what might work for where you live. I hope that helps. :-)
I wax my legs mainly using reusable strips but I'm unsure if the wax itself is bad. It just washes off with water I don't even know what's it's made of. Anyone know? It comes in a plastic pot too. :/
Have you heard of sugar waxing? Perhaps this would be good to look into for you. You can make it at home for cheap and I hear it's incredibly effective.
Hi Hun, it's been a year and I see that those ingredients aren't posted in the description for anything yet. Is there a site or another video that has your take on those items? Thanks for posting!!
I used to use my plastic tongue cleaner and I tossed mine every 3 months. I wonder if I use a stainless steel tongue cleaner instead, do I need to toss them regularly like I did? Will it grow bacteria?
You don't need to throw them out, they are not disposable. Stainless steel is naturally anti-bacterial and so wont harvest any germs. You can also wash it if you like.
Sophie Ollis wow Thank you for your information！I was going to buy the stainless steel tongue cleaner , normally the plastic one I always use is around1-3dollars, the stainless steel one I searched is 8$ so It is kind of not in my budget for a tongue cleaner. However it would be great if I can use it for a longer time instead of throwing it every three months. It will be worthy, I will get one. Thanks!
I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting my blades into the ground! I know someone else who puts their blades into an empty soda can. When it’s full, you can bring it to recycling.
What do you do for flossing? I switched from the individual, single use flossers (wasteful, I know) to the more long-lasting ones that have disposable heads, but I would like to find a better alternative. Flossing for me is very difficult with just the string (which comes in a plastic container) because I have fat fingers haha, so besides a water pick (which is still made of plastic) I haven't seen anything on it. Any suggestions?
This has been a struggle for me, too! I actually still have floss left from when I use to buy it inside a plastic container. When that runs out I'm looking into vegan and zero-waste alternatives. So far the only zero-waste options I can find contain beeswax so aren't for me. I'll keep looking and let you know if I find anything!
Have you tried those wooden toothpicks? They're not waste free and I think they usually come in little plastic boxes (or at least, they do in my country), but you might want to give it a try if you haven't yet.
